Three weeks into Hogans governorship, promises of collaboration fade in Maryland
It wasnt a good week for bipartisanship in Annapolis.
In a major address, Marylands new Republican governor chided Democrats for the floundering economy. Democrats declared the governors proposed tax cuts dead on arrival and said his priorities were misplaced. And to underline their dismay, Democrats delayed confirmation of five Cabinet nominees.
Less than three weeks after the swearing-in of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) brought two-party rule back to the capital, partisan feuding had returned as well. Glowing talk from the inauguration about working across the aisle suddenly seemed elusive.
Lawmakers said they had reached a key juncture: Relationships could continue to unravel as they did under the states last Republican governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Or, faced with a frustrated electorate and a $700million budget shortfall, Hogan and the Democratic-controlled legislature could find ways to compromise so that both sides could declare victory on issues they care about.
The honeymoon is definitely over, and people are trying to figure how we can move forward, said Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery). This is not an unsalvageable situation, but we need to reset the tone.
Hogan and his boosters said the week laid bare growing pains in a capital where Democrats are accustomed to controlling the governorship and the legislature. Hogan, they said, is merely trying to follow through on a message of fiscal responsibility that he preached during the campaign.
Given the reason we have a Republican governor is what the Democrats have done in the past, I think they will find a way to work with Governor Hogan, said former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael S. Steele (R).
Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the new governor remains committed to working with Democrats, who hold commanding majorities in the House and Senate. The fact is, many great accomplishments have only been achieved after tough negotiations, Mayer said. And that is exactly what we are expecting the outcome here to be as well.
Democrats are furious at the tone of Hogans maiden State of the State speech, in which he offered a dire assessment of Marylands economy to a statewide television audience. He criticized the high taxes, over-regulation and an anti-business attitude of the past eight years and bemoaned an exodus of taxpayers fleeing our state. He claimed that Maryland one of the wealthiest states in the country was dead last in manufacturing and said its economic performance was among the nations worst.
To many Democrats in the chamber, it sounded like the governor was trash-talking our state, Raskin said. Hogan, he said, seemed to forget he was addressing a group of people who feel like theyve given their all over the last many years.
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Three weeks into Hogans governorship, promises of collaboration fade in Maryland